At just 30 years old, Ben Platt has had the career of a lifetime. First garnering attention for his standout role in the Pitch Perfect film series, he skyrocketed to fame for his breakthrough performance as Evan Hansen in Dear Evan Hansen, earning Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Awards for his run in the show.

From there, he jumped into his solo music career, releasing two albums, Sing to Me Instead and Reverie. On screen, he starred in Ryan Murphy’s The Politician TV series, reprised his Dear Evan Hansen performance for the film adaptation, and last summer, cowrote and starred in his acclaimed passion project Theater Camp.

After making his return to Broadway as Leo Frank in Parade last year, earning him his second Tony Award nomination, he’s heading back to Broadway this month, now as himself. Melding all aspects of his career for a solo residency at the Palace Theatre, he will become the first act to perform in the newly renovated space.

“Anytime I’m on a Broadway stage, it’s like I’m in my happiest place. And so the only thing I can imagine being more special than that is being fully myself on a Broadway stage, which feels like a really rarefied, special thing to get to do,” says Platt.

In the weeks leading up to his Broadway return, Platt spoke with Broadway Direct about his upcoming residency, which will celebrate the release of his third album, Honeymind; the legends who graced the venue before him, including his hero, Judy Garland; and important moments across his wide-spanning career.

Taking inspiration from stars such as Bruce Springsteen and Melissa Etheridge, who in recent years, to great success, have performed solo residencies on Broadway, Platt knew that he wanted to take Honeymind to the stage. He was losing hope as the busy spring season left few theatres available — until he received a call from the Nederlander Organization.

“The Nederlanders let us know that the Palace was free, and not only that, but that I could have the opportunity to be the first thing in there,” he says. “So that just kind of felt like this beam of light from above that was Judy sort of saying, ‘This is your time to be yourself on Broadway.’”

Stepping into the Palace for the first time since its historic renovation, any nerves Platt had felt about playing the space melted away as he was welcomed with a “beautiful sea of blue” in the newly designed chairs, carpeting, and more. “The whole house has been beautifully restored. I feel warm and safe in there because it feels like my palette and my vibe.”

When assembling this residency, Platt knew immediately that he wanted to bring Tony Award winner Michael Arden along for the ride to direct, marking a reunion for the pair, as Arden also directed him last year in Parade.

“He’s just an inherently theatrical person,” Platt says of Arden, who has guided him through merging the worlds of his solo music and theater for this staging. “He’s helped me find the balance between creating a show that is very casual and concert-friendly, but that is respectful and aware of the fact that this is a Broadway stage and that I’m going to be singing a couple of Broadway things.”

While the main focus for the evening will be his new album and other favorites from his own catalog, Platt is very aware of the audiences hopeful to hear him take on Broadway tunes as well: “There will definitely be a Broadway appetizer for people who are coming in for that.”

When asked if audiences can expect favorites like Dear Evan Hansen and Parade, he says he’ll certainly touch on things he’s done in the past. “Parade not so much, because it’s just too hard to pull songs out. As much as I love doing that show, nobody wants to hear him tell everyone that he’s innocent on the stand, out of context. But I will be touching on the other ones, and I will certainly also be paying homage to some of the ladies who have come before me in that space, particularly my hero, Judy.”

As is the case with live performance, no two shows are the same, and while Platt anticipates most of his set list will remain intact from night to night, he teases that there will be a different special guest at each show.

“If you feel like coming and seeing as many guests as you want, you should come multiple times, because there are a lot of really exciting guests from the worlds of songwriting and pop music and Americana, and also from the Broadway community, and also just my own life. It’s going to be a nice little revolving door, and we’re going to sing all sorts of different things.”

As his first performance on May 28 approaches, outside of the vocal nerves — “I’ll be, like, constantly warming up and doing the lip trills and being like, ‘Is it still there? Is it still there?’ And panicking that I’m going to have mucus or something” — he knows he’ll be thinking of Judy Garland, who famously played the Palace Theatre multiple times and has been an inspiration to Platt not just throughout this process, but through his entire life.

“I’ll be thinking about my younger self dressed up like Dorothy [in The Wizard of Oz] from age 2 to 8. She’s just been such a guiding light and the idol and icon in my life forever. And so, to do anything that feels like following in her footsteps is very surreal.”